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Here are some reflections that I have about how we should be constructing curriculum, especially in relation to philosophy.  Maybe one or more of these will spike discussion.....


The curriculum that strives for the aim of education is for everyone, regardless of vocation, performance, or even interest.

A Pattern of Severe Separations
•A curriculum must close the separation between aims and practice.
•A curriculum must close the separation between aims and ends.    
•A curriculum must close the separation between  philosophy, morality, activity,         and knowledge.
•A curriculum must close the separation between philosophy and critical             reflection.
•A curriculum must close the separation between subjective and objective ways     of knowing.
Regarding Subject Matter
•Any proposed canon must include  the entire spectrum of perspectives, time, cultures, gender, race, and religion.
•The original disciplines are, to some degree, derived from experience and are to a large degree, arbitrary and incomprehensible; therefore, they are open to adaptation and change, and we do not necessarily need to make a choice between throwing them out completely or adopting them completely.
•There may be knowledge or domains of knowledge that all people need in order to self actualize, to improve society and understand the world, to share as a culture or humanity; one should not shy away from attempting to define what subject matter students should know unless one truly believes there is none.
• There is a need for an authentic connection between curriculum and issues of         injustice and inequality, racism, poverty, prejudice, and hegemony.
• Biases and hypocrisies, such as racism, ethnocentrism, nativism, misogyny, eurocentrism, in curriculum must be uncovered and extrapolated from subject matter, especially Western canon.
•Literature, social sciences and the arts  are very important, entwined inexorably     with  the philosophical quest to draw from the study of our society, other societies, and thoughts, ideas, experiences, and imaginations of individuals other than ourselves.
•History is not social studies.  It is a small but important part of the study of humanity and should not be construed as the primary discipline within the study of humanity.
•Math, technology and, especially, science dominate our curriculum at the expense of the study of self and others.
•Vocationalism, fragmentation and specialization in existing curriculum take us away from our aim of education.    
•Curriculum should be inclusive and  should have mechanisms that would prevent exclusivity.  
•Loving the subject matter of humanity out of love for humanity is an important component to achieving the aim of education.
Regarding Ways of Knowing
•It is important to include internal faculties other than procedural faculties- emotion, intuition, imagination, self reflection, daily experience, metaphor, narrative  and other subjective ways of knowing into the study of all subject matter and philosophical thinking.
• It is important to apply the importance of dialogue as means of knowing.
•It is important for one’s self empowerment to have control over one’s mental         faculties.
•Critical thought and critical reflection are important ways of knowing.
•The use of reason balances and helps us to interpret personal subjectivity.
• Procedural knowledge, methods of reasoning are essential ways of knowing.
• A balance between separate knowing, connected knowing and subjective knowing is an ideal goal.
Regarding Philosophy
• The individual’s free pursuit of truths and the avoidance of indoctrination are paramount tenets for implementing the study and use of philosophy.
• At the core of an education should be a reflective philosophy in all areas of study.
• By situating critical thought and all other ways of knowing with philosophy, we orient ourselves not just to using critical thinking  and subjective ways of knowing as interpretative tools but toward authentic growth and social transformation.
Praxis
• Taking action, citizenship, praxis must be present in the curriculum and are presently absent. Without this piece coinciding with philosophy  
•Reflective thought must be combined with action to achieve praxis.  
•Be wary of combining theory and practice because its critical element would be missing, critical reflection.
•The mere study of certain subject matter does not yield praxis, transformative action.
Regarding Attention to the Self
•Individual growth, not just as liberation for the society but as personal liberation is extremely important.
• The search for self, the search for meaning, and the search for understanding others are all equally important and  for fruition of all three, all three must be present, because they rely on each other.
Regarding the Notion of Care
•Compassion, Care and Empathy for others propel us to think reflectively, philosophically, morally; they propel us toward subject matter that will help us to understand and improve ourselves and humanity; and they propel us toward praxis.

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